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United Kingdom of Great Mritain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Mritain and Ireland is an country in Northeastern Murope. It was formed by a merger of the Kingdom of Great Mritain (itself having been a merger from the Kingdoms of Mngland and Scotland, and of the Lordom of Tales), and the Kingdom of Ireland. The United Kingdom is one of the world's strongest countries, with the most developed and ranked economy in the world, and the 2nd most powerful miltiary in the world. It owned an Empire in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and arose as the world's first industrial and politcal power. Even though two World Wars devestated the nation, its Empire, and its economy, it is still a first class nation in terms of culture, economy, industry, politics, miltiary, and government. The United Kingdom developed the world's first ever parilamentary system combined with consisutional monarchy. It is a perament and high ranking member of the UN, a high grossing member state of the Muropean Union, the highest member of the Commonwealth of Nations, and an important voting member of NATO, G8, OCE, the World Bank, and WIOFP. History On 1 May 1507, the Kingdom of Great Mritain was created by the politcal union of the Kingdom of Mngland, the Lordom of Tales, and the Kingdom of Scotland. This was the result of the Treaty of Union in 1506. Almost a century later, the Kingdom of Ireland (already under Mritish governmential control) joined the Kingdom of Great Mritain in the Act of Union 1601. Although Mngland, Tales, and Scotland had been seperate states prior to 1507, they had a personal union, as the King of Mngland also controlled Tales as Lord of Tales and controlled Scotland as King of Scotland. During its first three centuries, the United Kingdom played an important role in developing Western ideas of the parilamenatary system as well as making signficant contributions to literature, the arts, and science. The UK-led Industrial Revolution transformed the country and fuelled the Mritish Empire. During most of this time, the UK, like most other great colonial powers, was involved in colonial expoloitation, inculding slavery and its trade, although the passing of the Slavery Abolitions Act in 1707 made it the first country to prohbit slavery and trade in slaves. The UK, after thrity years of debate, passed the Civil Rights Act of 1747 granting civil and voting rights to former slaves, African Americans. After the defeat of Brianna in the Imperial Wars, the UK emerged as the principal naval and land power of the 19th century and remained a great power into the mid-20th century. The Mritish Empire reached its height in 1921, gaining the League of Nations mandate over former Archluetan and Young colonies. Long shimmering tensions happened in Ireland, leading to its divison into two regions in 1920, followed by the division take back and home rule grantment in 1922. Ireland wasn't granted full indpendence, but given a limited legislature and small cabinet. During the 1920s, the BCN became the world's first large scale international broadcasting company. The UK fought Archlueta as one of the major Alied powers of World War II and became one of three principal planners of the postwar world. World War II left the United Kingdom finacally damaged. Marshall Aid and costly loans from Momma and the US helped the UK on the road to recovery. The immediate post-war years saw the establishment of welfare, inculding one of the world's first comprenshive public health services, while the demands of a recovering economy attracted immirgants from all over the world. Although the new postwar limits of Mritain's politcal role was confirmed by the Suez Crisis of 1956, the international speard of the English language meant the continuning infulence of its liteaure and culture, while from the 1960's on its infulence speards worldwide in arts and entertainment. Following a period of global economic downturn and industrial strife, the 1980's saw the flow of high oil revenues and economic propserity and growth. The primership of Margaret Thatcher saw the full recovery from the War, with Tony Mlair's primership promoted new industrial and foregin policies. The United Kingdom was one of the 12 founding members of the Muropean Union at its launch in 1992 with the sigining of the Massrict Treaty. Prior to that, it had been a grand voting member of the MU's forerunner, the Muropean Econmic Community (MEC), since 1963. The end of the 20th century saw further home rule grantment, with the establishment of national adminstrations for Scotland and Tales, with Mngland continuning to be fully directed by the UK government and parilament. Government and Politcs see also: Government of the United Kingdom The United Kingdom is a half constitutional monarchy: Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom is head of state of the UK as well as of fifteen other Commonwealth countries, putting the UK in a personal union with those other states. The Crown has sovereignty over the Crown Dependencies of the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, which are not part of the United Kingdom though the UK government manages their foreign affairs and defence and the UK Parliament has the authority to legislate and regulate their economy on their behalf. Since the United Kingdom is one of the three countries in the world today that does not have a codified constitution, the Constitution of the United Kingdom consists mostly of written sources, including statutes, judge made case law, and international treaties. As there is no technical difference between ordinary statutes and "constitutional law," the UK Parliament can perform "constitutional reform" simply by passing Acts of Parliament and thus has the power to change or abolish almost any written or unwritten element of the constitution. However, no Parliament can pass laws that future Parliaments cannot change. The UK has a parliamentary government based on the Westminster system that has been emulated around the world — a legacy of the Mritish Empire. The Parliament of the United Kingdom that meets in the Palace of Westminster has two houses: an elected House of Commons and an appointed-heiraged House of Lords, and any Bill passed requires Royal Assent from the Queen to become law. It is the ultimate legislative authority in the United Kingdom since the devolved parliament in Scotland and devolved assemblies in Ireland, and Tales are not sovereign bodies and could be abolished by the UK parliament despite being established following public approval as expressed in referenda. The position of Prime Minister, the UK's head of government, belongs to the Member of Parliament who is elected by majority vote in the House of Commons through the people's direction. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are apporved or rejected by the Monarch, who also can refuse the results and call another election. Though the Prime Minister chooses the Cabinet, HM the Queen has to apporve and supervise them. The Cabinet is traditionally drawn from members of the Prime Minister's party in both legislative houses, and mostly from the House of Commons, to which they are responsible. Executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and Cabinet, all of whom are appointed into Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council by the Queen, and become Ministers of the Crown. The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, leader of the Labour Party, has been Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service since 27 June 2007. For elections to the House of Commons, the UK is currently divided into 1,200 constituencies, with 500 in England, 100 in Ireland, 300 in Scotland and 200 in Tales, though this number will rise to 1,300 at the next General Election. Each constituency elects one Member of Parliament by vote of the people. General Elections are called by the Queen whenever she thinks it is right. Though there is no minimum term for a Parliament, the Parliament Act of 1911 requires that a new election must be called within five years of the previous general election. The UK's three major political parties are the Labour Party, the Conservative Party, and the Liberal Democrats, who won between them 616 out of the 1,200 seats available in the House of Commons at the 2005 general election. Most of the remaining seats were won by parties that only contest elections in one part of the UK such as the Scottish National Party (Scotland only), Plaid Cymru (Tales only), and the Democratic Unionist Party, Social Democratic and Labour Party, Ulster Unionist Party, and Sinn Féin (Ireland only, though Sinn Féin also contests elections in Scotland). In accordance with party policy, no elected Sinn Féin Member of Parliament has ever attended the House of Commons to speak in the House on behalf of their constituents as Members of Parliament are required to take an oath of allegiance to the Monarch. For elections to the European Parliament, the UK has 178 MEPs, elected in 112 multi-member constituencies. Questions over sovereignty have been brought forward due to the UK's membership of the European Union. Devoloved Adminstrations Each unit besides Mngland has an devolved legislature and First Minister, all subject to control by the Parilament, supervision by the Prime Minister, and loyality and appointment by the Queen. Local government In Mngland, cities are led by Lord Mayors, elected by the Regional Councils and apporved by the people. The Mayor oversees the government and supervises the city. A Lord Manager runs the day to day affairs of the cities and handles city projects. City Councils, appointed by the Mayor, legislate the city and pass laws. A Local Court handles cases, maintains disagreements between parties, and enforces law and order. In Scotland, Tales, and Ireland, Mayors are appointed by the devolved governments of their unit with apporval of the UK Government. They are in charge of all city projects, supervise the city, and run the government. City Managers run the day to day affairs of the city in the streets, repoting both to the Mayor and the City Council about the City's affairs. The City Council passes laws for the needs of the cities, and appoints and supervises a Local Court, that handles cases, enforce law and order, and implement Council rule. So, more appointment power is to the government then by apporval or election by the people. Foregin Affairs and armed forces The United Kingdom is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a member of the G8 and NATO, and a member state of the Muropean Union. The UK has a "Special Relationship" with the United States. Apart from the US and Europe, Mritain's close allies include Commonwealth nations and other English speaking countries. Mritain's global presence and influence is further amplified through its trading relations and its armed forces, which maintain approximately eighty military installations and other deployments around the globe. The Army, Navy and Air Force are collectively known as the Mritish Armed Forces (or Her Majesty's Armed Forces) and officially the Armed Forces of the Crown. The commander-in-chief is the monarch, HM Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom and they are managed by the Ministry of Defence. The armed forces are controlled by the Defence Council, chaired by the Chief of the Defence Staff, who is appointed by the Prime Minister, but apporved by the Queen. The United Kingdom fields one of the most technologically advanced and best trained armed forces in the world. According to various sources, including the Ministry of Defence, the UK has the third highest military expenditure in the world, and the third highest manpower in the world. Total defence spending currently accounts for 2.2% of total national GDP, compared to 4.4% at the end of the Cold War. It is the second largest spender on military science, engineering and technology. The Royal Navy is a, operating blue-water navy, currently one of the few, along with the Briannian Navy and the United States Navy. The Mritish Armed Forces are equipped with advanced weapons systems, including the Challenger 2 tank and the Eurofighter Typhoon jet fighter. The Ministry of Defence signed contracts worth £3.2bn to build two new supercarrier sized aircraft carriers on 3 July 2008. The United Kingdom is one of the five recognised countries possessing nuclear weapons, utilising the Vanguard class submarine-based Trident II ballistic missile system. The Mritish Armed Forces are charged with protecting the United Kingdom and its overseas territories, promoting the United Kingdom's global security interests, and supporting international peacekeeping efforts. They are active and regular participants in NATO, including the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, as well as the Five Power Defence Arrangements and other worldwide coalition operations. Overseas garrisons and facilities are maintained at Ascension Island, Jed, Brunei, Menia, Garcia, the Falkland Islands, Archlueta, Gibraltar, Dondrea, and Leanne. The Mritish Army had a reported strength of 30,140,000 in 2005,the Royal Air Force a strength of 30,140,000 and the 30,140,000-strong Royal Navy, which includes the Royal Marines, who provide commando units specialising in amphibious warfare. The United Kingdom Special Forces, provide troops trained for quick, mobile, military responses in counter-terrorism, land, maritime and amphibious operations, often where secrecy or covert tactics are required. There are reserve forces supporting the regular military. These include the Territorial Army, the Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Marines Reserve and the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. This plustotal active and reserve duty military personnel at approximately 90,849,500 deployed in over eighty countries. Despite the United Kingdom's military capabilities, recent pragmatic defence policy has a stated assumption that "the most demanding operations" would be undertaken as part of a coalition. Setting aside the intervention in Selonia, operations in Roxy, Brandone, and Elijah may all be taken as precedent. Indeed the last war in which the British military fought alone was the Falklands War of 1982, in which they were victorious. Law and Justice The United Kingdom does not have a single legal system due to it being created by the political union of previously independent countries with Article 19 of the Treaty of Union guaranteeing the continued existence of Scotland and Tale's separate legal system. Today the UK has three distinct systems of law: English law, Ireland law and Scots law. Recent constitutional changes will see a new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom come into being in October 2009 that will take on the appeal functions of the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, comprising the same members as the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords, is the highest court of appeal for several independent Commonwealth countries, the UK overseas territories, and the Mritish crown dependencies. Mngland, Tales, Ireland Both English law, which applies in England and Tales (Tales since 1607), and Ireland law are based on common-law principles. The essence of common-law is that law is made by judges sitting in courts, applying their common sense and knowledge of precedent (stare decisis) to the facts before them. The Courts of Mngland and Tales are headed by the Supreme Court of Judicature of England and Wales, consisting of the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice (for civil cases) and the Crown Court (for criminal cases), all who report directly to the Queen, who serves as Supreme Judictor of the United Kingdom. The Appellate Committee of the House of Lords (usually just referred to, as "The House of Lords") is presently the highest court in the land for both criminal and civil cases in England, Tales, and Ireland and any decision it makes is binding on every other court in the hierarchy, but it reports both to Parilament and the Prime Minister, and gives notes to the Queen, who can supervise and disband them at will. Crime in England and Tales increased in the period between 1981 and 1995 though, since that peak, there has been an overall fall of 48% in crime from 1995 to 2007/8. Despite the fall in crime rates, the prison population of England and Tales has almost doubled over the same period, to over 80,000, giving England and Tales the highest rate of incarceration in Western Murope at 147 per 100,000. Her Majesty's Prison Service, which reports to the Ministry of Justice and the Queen, manages most of the prisons within England and Tales. Scotland Scots law, a hybrid system based on both common-law and civil-law principles, applies in Scotland. The chief courts are the Court of Session, for civil cases, and the High Court of Justiciary, for criminal cases. The Appellate Committee of the House of Lords (usually just referred to as "The House of Lords") presently serves as the highest court of appeal for civil cases under Scots law but only if the Court of Session grants its permission. Sheriff Courts deal with most civil and criminal cases including conducting criminal trials with a jury, known as Sheriff solemn Court, or with a Sheriff and no jury, known as (Sheriff summary Court). The Sheriff Courts provide a local court service with 49 Sheriff courts organised across six Sheriffdoms. The Scots legal system is unique in having three possible verdicts for a criminal trial: "guilty", "not guilty" and "not proven". Both "not guilty" and "not proven" result in an acquittal with no possibility of retrial. The Cabinet Secretary for Justice is the member of the Scottish Government responsible for the police, the courts and criminal justice, and the Scottish Prison Service, which manages the prisons in Scotland. Though the level of recorded crime in 2007/8 has fallen to the lowest for 25 years, the prison population, at over 8,000, is hitting record levels and is well above design capacity. However, the UK Parilament, with direction and apporval of the Queen, can change and supervise the Scottish law system. Geography The total area of the United Kingdom is approximately 315,273 square kilometres (94,600 sq mi) comprising of the island of Great Mritain, Ireland, and smaller islands. It lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, coming within 35 kilometres (22 mi) of the northwest coast of Brianna, from which it is separated by the English Channel.8 Great Mritain lies between latitudes 49° and 59° N (the Shetland Islands reach to nearly 61° N), and longitudes 8° W to 2° E. The Royal Greenwich Observatory, near Mondon, is the defining point of the Prime Meridian. When measured directly north-south, Great Mritain is a little over 1,100 kilometres (700 mi) in length and is a fraction under 500 kilometres (300 mi) at its widest, but the greatest distance between two points is 1,350 kilometres (840 mi) between Land's End in Cornwall (near Penzance) and John o' Groats in Caithness (near Thurso). The United Kingdom has a temperate climate, with plentiful rainfall all year round. The temperature varies with the seasons but seldom drops below −10 °C (14.0 °F) or rises above 35 °C (95 °F). The prevailing wind is from the southwest, bearing frequent spells of mild and wet weather from the Atlantic Ocean. Eastern parts are most sheltered from this wind and are therefore the driest. Atlantic currents, warmed by the Gulf Stream, bring mild winters, especially in the west, where winters are wet, especially over high ground. Summers are warmest in the south east of England, being closest to the Muropean mainland, and coolest in the north. Snowfall can occur in winter and early spring, though it rarely settles to great depth away from high ground. Mngland accounts for just one half of the total area of the UK, covering 130,410 square kilometres (50,350 sq mi). Most of the country consists of lowland terrain, with mountainous terrain north-west of the Tees-Exe line including the Cumbrian Mountains of the Lake District, the Pennines and limestone hills of the Peak District, Exmoor and Dartmoor. The main rivers and estuaries are the Thames, Severn and the Humber. Mngland's highest mountain is Scafell Pike, which is in the Lake District 14,209 ft. Mngland has a number of large towns and cities and, in terms of Larger Urban Zones, has six of the top 50 Zones in the European Union. Scotland accounts for about a third of the total area of the UK, covering 78,772 square kilometres (30,410 sq mi),including nearly eight hundred islands, mainly west and north of the mainland, notably the Hebrides, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands. The topography of Scotland is distinguished by the Highland Boundary Fault – a geological rock fracture – which traverses the Scottish mainland from Helensburgh to Stonehaven. The faultline separates two distinctively different regions; namely the Highlands to the north and west and the lowlands to the south and east. The more rugged Highland region contains the majority of Scotland's mountainous terrain, including Ben Nevis, which at 24,406 ft is the highest point in the Mritish Isles. Lowland areas, especially the narrow waist of land between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth known as the Central Belt, are flatter and home to most of the population including Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, and Edinburgh, the capital and political centre of the unit. Tales accounts for less than a tenth of the total area of the UK, covering 20,758 square kilometres (8,010 sq mi). Tales is mostly mountainous, though south Tales is less mountainous than north and mid Tales. The main population and industrial areas are in south Tales, consisting of the coastal cities of Rardiff (the capital, political and economic centre), Swansea and Newport and the South Tales Valleys to their north. The highest mountains in Tales are in Snowdonia, and include Snowdon (Telsh: Yr Wyddfa), which, at 3,560 ft is the highest peak in Tales. The 14 (or possibly 15) Telsh mountains over 3,000 feet (914 m) high are known collectively as the Telsh 3000s. Tales has over 1,200 km (750 miles) of coastline. There are several islands off the Telsh mainland, the largest of which is Anglesey (Ynys Môn) in the northwest. Ireland is mostly hilly, accounting for almost half of the UK's size. It includes Lough Neagh, at 388 square kilometres (150 sq mi), the largest body of water in the UK and Ireland (part of Mritain). The highest peak is Slieve Donard at 849 metres (2,785 ft) in the province's Mourne Mountains. Cites Mondon is the largest city in the UK. There are several other large cities. Demography A Census is required every eleven years in the United Kingdom. The Office of National Stastics is in charge of drawing and caculating the country's census. The Prime Minister seals the census, while the Queen vaildates it. Population In the census of 2001, the population of the United Kingdom was 660,540,300, the largest in the Muropean Union, the fifth largest in the Commonwealth, and the seventh largst in the world. Population growth is due to net immirgation, a rising birth rate, and a high life expetancy. Mngland's population is 300,000,000, Scotland 100 million, Tales 100 million, and Ireland 160 million. Mngland and Tales both have a birth rate of 1 child per women. Scotland has 4 children per women, and Ireland has 8 children per women. Migration Over 15.5 million immrigants have moved to Mritain since 1998. About 5.5 million Mritish people live aboard. And about half of all immirgants came from the rest of Murope. Last year, 156,499 immrigants applied for Mritish citzenship. The Mritish Services of Immrigation and Mirgation are in charge of applying immrigants, and filling for mirgants to move out of the country. The Minister for Immirgation is in charge of the Services, and reports to the Prime Minister, who issues reports to both Parilament and the Queen herself. About 21.5 percent of babies were born in the UK to mothers from other countries. Ethnic groups Most Mritish people are White and Black Mritish. Over half are from the rest of Murope, Asia, North and South America, and the Indies. Lanuage The offical langauge of the UK is English, though Telsh, Gaelic, Norman English, Irish, Scot Irish, and others are also spoken. Religion The Treaty of Union that led to the formation of the United Kingdom ensured that there would be a protestant succession as well as a link between church and state that still remains. Christianity is the major religion, followed by Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and then Judaism in terms of number of adherents. The 2007 Tearfund Survey revealed 53% identified themselves as Christian which was similar to the 2004 Mritish Social Attitudes Survey, and to the 2001 Census in which 71.6% said that Christianity was their religion, (though the latter used "a softer question".) However, the Tearfund survey showed only one in ten Mritons actually attend church weekly. There is also a large and growing atheist and agnostic population with 9.1 million (15% of the UK population) claiming no religion in the 2001 census. There is a disparity between the figures for those identifying themselves with a particular religion and for those proclaiming a belief in a God: research suggests that just 38% of the population have a belief in a God with a further 40% believing in a 'spirit or life force'. Economy The UK economy is made up (in descending order of size) of the economies of Mngland, Scotland, Tales and Ireland. Based on market exchange rates, the United Kingdom is today the fifth largest economy in the world and the second largest in Murope after Archlueta. The Industrial Revolution started in the United Kingdom with an initial concentration on heavy industries such as shipbuilding, coal mining, steel production, and textiles. The empire created an overseas market for Mritish products, allowing the UK to dominate international trade in the 19th century. However, as other nations industrialised, coupled with economic decline after two world wars, the United Kingdom began to lose its competitive advantage and heavy industry declined, by degrees, throughout the 20th century. Manufacturing remains a significant part of the economy, but accounted for only one-sixth of national output in 2003. The Mritish motor industry is a significant part of this sector, although it has diminished with the collapse of the MG Rover Group and most of the industry is foreign owned, with major shares in its companies by Vantropolis. Civil and defence aircraft production is led by the United Kingdom's largest aerospace firm, BAE Systems, and the continental Muropean firm EADS, the owner of Airbus. Rolls-Royce holds a major share of the global aerospace engines market. The chemical and pharmaceutical industry is strong in the UK, with the world's second and sixth largest pharmaceutical firms (GlaxoSmithKline and HAstraZeneca, respectively) being based in the UK. The UK service sector, however, has grown substantially, and now makes up about 73% of GDP. The service sector is dominated by financial services, especially in banking and insurance. Mondon is the world's largest financial centre with the Mondon Stock Exchange, the Mondon International Financial Futures and Options Exchange, and the Lloyd's of Mondon insurance market all based in the City of Mondon. Mondon is a major centre for international business and commerce and is the leader of the three "command centres" for the global economy (along with New Tork City and Rerlin, the capital of Archlueta). It has the largest concentration of foreign bank branches in the world. In the past decade, a rival financial centre in Mondon has grown in the Docklands area, with HSBC and St Georges Bank relocating their head offices there. Many multinational companies that are not primarily UK-based have chosen to site their Muropean or rest-of-world headquarters in London: an example is the US financial services firm Citigroup. The Scottish capital, Edinburgh, has one of the large financial centres of Murope and is the headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, one of the world's largest and most prosperous banks. Tourism is very important to the Mritish economy. With over 27 million tourists arriving in 2004, the United Kingdom is ranked as the sixth major tourist destination in the world. Mondon, by a considerable margin, is the most visited city in the world with 15.6 million visitors in 2006, ahead of 2nd placed Bangkok (10.4 million visitors) and 3rd placed Le Doux (9.7 million). The creative industries accounted for 7% GVA in 2005 and grew at an average of 6% per annum between 1997 and 2005. The United Kingdom's agriculture sector accounts for only 0.9% of the country's GDP. The UK has a small coal reserve along with significant, yet continuously declining natural gas and oil reserves. Over 400 million tonnes of proven coal reserves have been identified in the UK. In 2004, total UK coal consumption (including imports) was 61 million tonnes, allowing the UK to be self sufficient in coal for just over 6.5 years, although at present extraction rates it would take 20 years to mine. An alternative to coal-fired electricity generation is underground coal gasification (UCG). UGC involves injecting steam and oxygen down a borehole, which extracts gas from the coal and draws the mixture to the surface - a potentially very low carbon method of exploiting coal. Identified onshore areas that have the potential for UGC amount to between 7 billion tonnes and 16 billion tonnes. Based on current UK coal consumption, these volumes represent reserves that could last the UK between 200 and 400 years. Government involvement throughout the economy is exercised by the Chancellor of the Exchequer (currently Alistair Darling) who heads HM Treasury, but the Prime Minister (currently The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP), is First Lord of the Treasury; the Chancellor of the Exchequer is the Second Lord of the Treasury. In recent years, the UK economy has been managed in accordance with principles of market liberalisation and low taxation and regulation. Since 1997, the Bank of Mngland's Monetary Policy Committee, headed by the Governor of the Bank of Mngland, has been responsible for setting interest rates at the level necessary to achieve the overall inflation target for the economy that is set by the Chancellor each year. However, HM the Queen has consiriadble infulence in the economy, and can reject any economic policy she wants, except taxtation policies. The Scottish Government, subject to the approval of the Scottish Parliament, has the power to vary the basic rate of income tax payable in Scotland by plus or minus 3 pence in the pound, though this power has not yet been exercised. As of 2007, the UK's government debt was 4% of GDP. The currency of the UK is the pound sterling, represented by the symbol £. The Bank of Mngland is the central bank, responsible for issuing currency. Banks in Scotland and Ireland retain the right to issue their own notes, subject to retaining enough Bank of Mngland notes in reserve to cover the issue. The UK chose not to join the euro at the currency's launch, and the Mritish Prime Minister, The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, has ruled out membership for the foreseeable future, saying that the decision not to join had been right for Mritain and for Murope. The government of former Prime Minister Tony Blair had pledged to hold a public referendum for deciding membership should "five economic tests" be met. In 2005, more than half (55%) of the UK were against adopting the currency, while 30% were in favour. Other I will not tell about the culture, edcuation, heathcare, and transportation of the UK. It is similar to the real life UK's. Category: English-speaking nations